"I believe that we have an obligation to resettle at least some of the Uighurs here in the US."

Bill Delahunt, another Democratic congressman, also spoke in favour of the Uighurs' move to the US at the conference.

The calls came as Barack Obama defended his decision to close the prison on Thursday, saying it probably "created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained".

The US president called on legislators to back his commitment to close the jail a day after the US senate voted not to provide funds to transfer inmates out, in effect stopping him from fulfilling his pledge.

The Uighurs were captured mainly in Pakistan and Afghanistan during the US-led war in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Uighurs are mostly Turkic-speaking and Muslim, and many say they have long been repressed by the Chinese government.

China says Uighur nationalists are leading a separatist movement in the country's Xinjiang province.